 | Changing Habits |
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HABITS
We all have habits. Some habits are good for our health and some habits are not.
Knowledge is seldom a sufficient motivator for developing healthy habits or ending/reducing unhealthy ones.
Real and lasting change occurs over time. You need to set goals, make careful plans to increase the odds of success and keep at it until your goal is reached.
- Nathaniel Emmons
Healthy lifestyle choices become easier to maintain over the long term if you can build them into your routine rather than just hoping that you will have the time or remember to do them. For example, put a small container with all of your dental floss supplies by the couch (if you unwind in front of TV in the evening) so that you can floss while watching rather than leaving it until you are too tired and just want to go to bed. Or, make a healthy lunch the night before instead of grabbing something on the way out the door or eating junk food because that's all that's available at work or school.
Much research has been done to determine:
- how people develop habits that are good for their health (such as regular exercise, eating more fruits and vegetables)
- how people break habits that are harmful to their health (such as smoking, eating high fat, high salt and sugar filled foods)
The 'Stages of Change' information below is based on this research and can help you in the process of making healthy lifestyle changes.
STAGES OF CHANGE
A valuable and commonly used model for understanding how to change your behavior is called the "Stages of Change Model". This model was developed in 1983 by Prochaska and DiClemente. The model suggests that behavior change is more complicated than just wanting to change or having enough 'will power'. We now understand that changing our behavior is a process that happens over time (not overnight!) Understanding a bit about the stages of change can help you 'stack the deck' in favor of success in changing your behavior.
There are 5 stages involved in change according to the Stages of Change Model:
- 1. Precontemplation
- 2. Contemplation
- 3. Preparation
- 4. Action
- 5. Maintenance
In addition to the 5 stages, there is the potential for 'Relapse'
1. Precontemplation
- you are generally unaware of, downplaying or denying the health risks or benefits of your behavior
- you are not convinced of the need to change your behavior
- you have no intention of changing your behavior within the next six months
- the importance of the cons (for changing your behavior) still outweighs the importance of the pros.
For example: If trying to quit smoking, a person in the Precontemplation stage will typically say things like "Most of my relatives smoked and they all lived to be over ninty, so it can't be that bad for you. Besides, I enjoy smoking too much to even think about quitting."
2. Contemplation
- you are becoming aware of the health risks or benefits of your behavior
- you feel that there may be a need to change your behavior
- you are intending to change your behavior within the next six months
- you may doubt whether you can actually make the desired change
- the cons for changing still slightly outweigh the pros for you.
For example: If trying to quit smoking, a person in the Contemplation stage will typically say things like "I know I should quit smoking. I worry about my health and the effect the smoking is having on my wife and kids. I'm not sure I can quit though."
3. Preparation
- you have decided that you want to make a change in your behavior
- you begin to think that you might be successful in making the change
- you are planning to make the change very soon and have begun to make some preparations
- you are less focused on why you want or need to change and more on how to go about doing it
- the importance of the pros is now beginning to outweigh the importance of the cons for you.
For example: If trying to quit smoking, a person in the Preparation stage will typically say things like "I've decided to quit smoking. Yesterday, I enrolled in a stop smoking program with a friend and I spoke with my doctor about using nicotine replacements at first to help with the withdrawal symptoms."
4. Action
- you have actually made the desired change within the last six months
- you are being faced with situations and triggers that tempt you back towards the old behaviors
- each time you are successful at resisting these temptations, you become more confident in your ability to maintain the desired change
- the potential for relapse is strongest at this stage.
For example: If trying to quit smoking, a person in the Action stage will typically say things like "I stopped smoking one month, three days and eleven hours ago. I still get cravings sometimes, but I have found a number of different ways to avoid or deal with them."
Relapse must also be thought of as part of the process. The risk for relapse tends to be highest during the 'Action' stage of change, but may occur during the 'Maintenance' stage as well. Don't be discouraged if you have tried to quit an unhealthy habit, or tried to adopt a healthy one, only to find yourself falling back into old patterns. Experts say that it often takes several attempts at giving up an unhealthy habit, or adopting a healthy one, before lasting success is achieved. Each attempt, however, is worth a great deal in the overall process of change. Each attempt gives you the opportunity to learn something about yourself, the nature of the behavior you want to change and the factors that influence your ability to change.
For example:
- perhaps you did not have enough support, distraction or alternative behaviors planned for those times when the cravings or tendencies to return to old patterns hit
- maybe you found that certain situations were triggers for the habit, but you hadn't thought of ways to handle those situations in advance
- maybe you set unrealistic goals for yourself (like going to the gym 7 days a week when your time was already stretched too thin).
You will do best at changing your behavior if you set realistic goals for yourself, enlist the support of friends and family and if you pay close attention to the 'planning' stage of your change process. Think about the cravings, temptations and the triggers in advance. Have a plan (or several different strategies) for how you are going to deal with these challenges. For example, if you know (perhaps from previous attempts at stopping smoking) that you tend to overeat and snack continually when you quit smoking, have low calorie/nutritious foods on hand so that you don't pile on the weight and become tempted to resume smoking.
5. Maintenance
- the new behavior continues
- you begin to feel even more confident about your ability to continue the new behavior
- this stage is thought to last from 6 months to 5 years.
For example: If trying to quit smoking, a person in the Maintenance stage will typically say things like "It's been a year now since I quit smoking. I still take it one day at a time, but I believe that this time I'll stay quit."
RECOMMENDED READING
'Changing for Good: A Revolutionary Six-Stage Program for Overcoming Bad Habits and Moving Your Life Forward' (1991) by Prochaska J, Norcross J, DiClemente C.
'The Complete Idiot's Guide to Changing Old Habits For Good' (2008) by G. Alan Marlatt, Ph.D and Deborah S. Romaine
Visit the LSA Lending Library for more excellent book suggestions and descriptions.
ADDICTION HELP LINE
1-866-33AADAC
1-866-332-2322
You want to quit. We want to help. AADAC's Addiction Help Line is a free, confidential telephone service. It offers free alcohol, tobacco, other drug and problem gambling information as well as support and referral services to callers accessing this toll-free, 24 hour, confidential help line. Calls are answered by a trained counsellor who can help you develop an individual quit plan, offer information, or refer you to services available in your community. The Help Line operates from 8 am to 8 pm. Outside of these hours, you will receive general support from AADAC Help Line staff. You can also arrange to have an addiction counsellor call you back
QUITTING TOBACCO
- Just Breathe: Becoming and Remaining Smoke Free - Canadian Heart and Stroke Foundation
- Becoming and Remaining Smoke Free - Canadian Heart and Stroke Foundation - Position Statement
- Canadian Lung Association Smoking Cessation Resources
- It's Canada's Time to Quit Smoking
- Alberta Lung Association Smoking Cessation Resources
- Smoker's Help Line
1-866-33AADAC
1-866-332-2322You want to quit. We want to help. AADAC's Smoker's Help Line is a free, confidential telephone service. It offers free alcohol, tobacco, other drug and problem gambling information as well as support and referral services to callers accessing this toll-free, 24 hour, confidential help line. Calls are answered by a trained counsellor who can help you develop an individual quit plan, offer information, or refer you to services available in your community. The Help Line operates from 8 am to 8 pm. Outside of these hours, you will receive general support from AADAC Help Line staff. You can also arrange to have an addiction counsellor call you back
- Alberta Quits - free online smoking cessation program
- QuitCore
- is a free group support program that teaches how to quit smoking and connects people with others who are also quitting. Based on the Tom
Baker Cancer Centre (TBCC) program, which helped people quit smoking for over twenty-five years, QuitCore launched in the fall of 2008. More
than 7,000 Albertans have quit smoking through the QuitCore/TBCC model. This program is available in English for adults eighteen years and older
and uses quitting support techniques such as self-hypnosis, behaviour modification, relaxation, strategies to help with physical and mental
recovery and includes visits from past program graduates. As of January 2011, the program will be offered in Edmonton, Calgary, Brooks, Canmore,
Cold Lake Coronation, Drumheller, Fort McMurray, Grande Prairie, High Level, High Prairie, Lethbridge, Medicine Hat, Peace River, Red Deer,
Rimbey, Stettler, Sylvan Lake, Taber, Wainwright, Westlock, Wetaskiwin and Whitecourt.
For more information about QuitCore please call:1-866-710-QUIT
1-866-710-7848
- Nicotine Anonymous - A 12 Step Program offering support to those who want to quit smoking and stop other forms of tobacco and nicotine addiction.
